By Cam Lucadou-Wells
State political parties have yet to commit to any items on Casey Council’s wishlist for $2.7 billion of road and rail investment.
Ahead of the 2018 state election, the council will push for a swag of road projects under its‘Commit to Casey’ slogan.
They include extending Dandenong Bypass to South Gippsland Freeway, upgrading Pound Road, Greaves Road and O’Shea Road and eliminating the Remington Drive level crossing.
Other proposals are finishing the duplication of Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and Berwick-Cranbourne Road as well as extending Thompsons and Glasscocks roads.
Casey will also lobby for extending a dual railway to Clyde.
Roads Minister and Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan listed a cache of projects completed or planned – none of which matched the council’s list.
Mr Donnellan conceded there’s much more to do.
“We’re investing in the roads that locals rely on every day, adding lanes to the Monash, upgrading Thompsons Road, Hallam Road and Narre Warren North Road, just to name a few.
“We know that we can always do more.
“That’s why we’re investing in major planning projects to make sure we have projects ready to go when funding becomes available.”
Projects to come include the $38.4 million Hallam Road upgrade which is in the pre-planning phase.
There is also a road safety review into the safety of South Gippsland Highway near the scene of a fatal crash at Lighthouse Christian College.
The government is conducting a planning study into an upgrade of Western Port Highway and Glasscocks Road.
The Monash Freeway widening project is expected to be complete this year.
Ann-Marie Hermans, who is the Liberal candidate for Cranbourne, said “all things are possible” for the state election.
She said the region’s roads and railway needed to reflect the “staggering” growth of families in Casey.
So far, the Coalition has announced the removal of the Thompsons Road-Western Port Highway roundabout.
Ms Hermans said it was “ridiculous” that a train station at Cranbourne East or Clyde hadn’t been built and that there was “heavy traffic stuck at roundabouts and single lane roads.”
“Personally I hate wasting precious time travelling in peak hour in and around Cranbourne.
“Rest assured, I will be advocating strongly for road and rail development in our local area, so we can all spend less time on the roads and more time at home with our families.”
Tom Cummings, a Greens candidate for Eastern Victoria, said his party’s priority was public transport infrastructure.
“Casey is no exception.
“We know that more roads just leads to more traffic, so let’s make sure we prioritise solutions that will actually make a difference.”
Mr Cummings welcomed Casey Council’s wish for the duplication and extension of the Cranbourne rail line, but with the addition of bus lines.
“Rather than committing to yet another series of roadworks, they’d be better off extending and increasing the bus networks that service the Berwick-Cranbourne area.
“Many new estates have no bus infrastructure at all.”
